1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the remote operation of powered convenience accessories in automobiles, and specifically automobiles having a power sliding door and/or a power liftgate. More particularly, the present invention relates to the method and apparatus for electronically controlling the operation of a power sliding door and/or a power liftgate in a minivan including, in one aspect of the invention, the use of a remote keyless entry system.
2. Discussion
It is well-known that electronics have been employed in automobiles to encompass a wide variety of automotive systems and accessories. In today's automobiles, electronically controlled convenience accessories such as power operated central locking systems for doors, trunk and gas tank cap, power adjustable seats and steering wheels, power windows and doors and theft deterrent devices, among others, are commonplace.
Electronic control systems routinely employ microcontrollers and/or microprocessors that are programmed to interact with a variety of sensors and actuators to sense, measure, monitor and control nearly every functional aspect of automobile operation. Often, several or more control systems combine together to comprise a single vehicle electrical system and each control system is interdependent upon one or more others for data or performance in order to accomplish its tasks and objectives. As such, the control systems are designed to share data with one another, as necessary, across one or more communication interfaces within the vehicle electrical system. For reasons of design cost, complexity, reliability and functionality, as new control systems are subsequently introduced into a vehicle electrical system, it is desirable to minimize the additional circuitry and programming that is required to implement the new control system.
Among automobiles today, minivans enjoy a sustained popularity in the marketplace, and have done so since their introduction in the early 1980's. Minivans often include one or more sliding doors, as well as a rear liftgate for access to the vehicle.
It has become desirable to employ a power convenience device for automatically operating (e.g., opening and closing) the sliding doors and liftgates of minivans in order to avoid having the vehicle users manually open and close these heavy doors.
Thus, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a power convenience device which substitutes for the use of physical effort on the part of the automobile user to open and close a sliding door or liftgate of a minivan.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an electronic control system for operating power sliding doors and/or a power liftgate in a minivan with a minimal amount of electrical circuitry being added to the overall vehicle electrical system and which can take advantage of controllers, switch inputs and an SAE Standard data bus already hardwired within an automobile.
In addition, another objective of the invention is to accommodate the monitoring of multiple inputs for the same function by a body control module and subsequently broadcasting the information over a standard data bus to a control module controlling the operation of the sliding door or liftgate.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a remote keyless entry (RKE) system as a user input interface to a power sliding door or liftgate control system which enables a sliding door or liftgate to be opened remotely using a remote keyless entry device. A further objective of the present invention is to provide such a remote keyless entry system that allows a single RKE user input device, such as a key fob, to be utilized for a variety of combinations of power door and liftgate options that may be incorporated in a minivan.